Effects of antler development stage on fatty acid, Vitamin and GAGs contents of velvet antler in spotted deer (Cervus nippon)

This study aimed to provide basic information as the foundation for further studies on the assessment of velvet antler quality by investigating the changes in fatty acid, vitamin A and E, minerals and GAGs contents by development stage of antler in spotted deer (Cervus nippon). Twelve stags (aged 4 to 5 years) were divided into two groups and velvet antler harvested 40 days (FDG) and 60 days (SDG) after casting of the buttons from the previous set. Total saturated fatty acid was lower in FDG than SDG (p<0.05). Total monounsaturated fatty acid, conjugated linoleic acid (p<0.05), polyunsaturated fatty acid and ω3 fatty acid were higher in FDG than SDG. The vitamin A content of FDG was higher than that of SDG but the vitamin E content of FDG was lower than that of SDG (p<0.05). SDG had significantly higher calcium and phosphate content than FDG (p<0.05). The magnesium content showed a similar trend to the contents of calcium and phosphate, but there was no significant difference between SDG and FDG. Uronic acid content was higher in FDG than SDG but there was no significant difference. The contents of GAGs and sialic acid were significantly higher (p<0.05) in FDG than SDG. These results indicated that the longer stage of antler development had lower content of activating components and this lead to a decrease of antler quality.